Comments on: Politics and Shame http://sadredearth.com/politics-and-shame/ how we lived on it Thu, 09 Sep 2010 19:51:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: copithorne http://sadredearth.com/politics-and-shame/comment-page-1/#comment-1155 copithorne Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:26:13 +0000 http://sadredearth.com/?p=3678#comment-1155 With the exception of the unjusifiably marginalized Noam Chomsky, I've never heard of the people you mention representing "the left." Certainly none of them have an iota of power within the Democratic Party. The one example you do offer of Congressmen McDermott and Bonior -- they had the audacity to say that there was no evidence of Iraqi nuclear weapons and that George Bush was capable of misleading the American people in order to justify a war. These statements have been vindicated and no apologies should be needed for speaking the truth. Contrast this with the statements cited by Andrew Sullivan by John McCain and Dick Cheney. I am hard pressed to name any Republican politician or conservative political thinker who I see as engaged in thinking through a philosophy of public policy. [Maybe Ron Paul. Maybe Tom Campbell. Anyone else?] I see instead a tribal identification centered around the consolations of being a victim and having enemies. And the tribe with which they are identified is not America but some abstract fraction of it. With the exception of the unjusifiably marginalized Noam Chomsky, I’ve never heard of the people you mention representing “the left.” Certainly none of them have an iota of power within the Democratic Party.

The one example you do offer of Congressmen McDermott and Bonior — they had the audacity to say that there was no evidence of Iraqi nuclear weapons and that George Bush was capable of misleading the American people in order to justify a war. These statements have been vindicated and no apologies should be needed for speaking the truth.

Contrast this with the statements cited by Andrew Sullivan by John McCain and Dick Cheney.

I am hard pressed to name any Republican politician or conservative political thinker who I see as engaged in thinking through a philosophy of public policy. [Maybe Ron Paul. Maybe Tom Campbell. Anyone else?] I see instead a tribal identification centered around the consolations of being a victim and having enemies. And the tribe with which they are identified is not America but some abstract fraction of it.

]]> By: A. Jay Adler http://sadredearth.com/politics-and-shame/comment-page-1/#comment-1146 A. Jay Adler Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:04:29 +0000 http://sadredearth.com/?p=3678#comment-1146 Michael, that's a fair observation, but it is because the real point of the post was to detail an observation I had made about the left and 9/11 in an earlier post. The behavior of the right to which I refer is all in the past year or so and should be fresh in the minds of those willing to recognize it. The two images I include with the post are specific examples of that to which I refer - and the inanity of Goldberg's Liberal Fascism (I don't imagine the right was too keen on declarations that Bush was a fascist), especially with the Hitler mustache image. I could cite Limbaugh's declaration that he wants Obama to fail, the "birthers," Beck on almost any show. It would be quite easy. Michael, that’s a fair observation, but it is because the real point of the post was to detail an observation I had made about the left and 9/11 in an earlier post. The behavior of the right to which I refer is all in the past year or so and should be fresh in the minds of those willing to recognize it. The two images I include with the post are specific examples of that to which I refer – and the inanity of Goldberg’s Liberal Fascism (I don’t imagine the right was too keen on declarations that Bush was a fascist), especially with the Hitler mustache image. I could cite Limbaugh’s declaration that he wants Obama to fail, the “birthers,” Beck on almost any show. It would be quite easy.

]]> By: Michael http://sadredearth.com/politics-and-shame/comment-page-1/#comment-1145 Michael Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:34:54 +0000 http://sadredearth.com/?p=3678#comment-1145 You cite specific examples and quotes of the left, but make generalizations of the right. You post pictures but they're not directly attributable to Limbaugh, Cheney, Beck etc. You did great leg work on the left, but didn't do any on the right. I'm not saying there aren't any people on the right to be embarassed by, but you haven't done a thorough job of citing them. Just some honest feedback... You cite specific examples and quotes of the left, but make generalizations of the right. You post pictures but they’re not directly attributable to Limbaugh, Cheney, Beck etc. You did great leg work on the left, but didn’t do any on the right. I’m not saying there aren’t any people on the right to be embarassed by, but you haven’t done a thorough job of citing them. Just some honest feedback…

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